Ultrasonic processing is often used to treat materials such as webs. The web is brought between a rapidly vibrating element, referred to as an ultrasonic horn, and another element, referred to as an anvil. The heat generated and pressure of the vibrating horn can be used to treat the web.
Webs are made of a multitude of entangled fibers. The fibers may be entangled in a generally regular pattern, for example, by weaving, or in a more random arrangement, by techniques such as hydroentanglement. The fibers themselves can be of various sizes and materials. By proper selection of the fibers and the entanglement parameters, properties of the web, such as strength and porosity, can be varied, making the web suitable for a particular application.